> Without the mongol empire, there is no trade, no transfer of knowledge and technology from the east to the west and no italian wealth and hence no italian ren

> Without the mongol empire, there is no trade, no transfer of knowledge and technology from the east to the west and no italian wealth and hence no italian renaissance. > In 1480, the russians finally ended the reign of the Golden Horde and ended europe's trade link to the east. 12 years later, an italian sailor set out to find another trade link to the east. Interesting, where does the silk road pass through Russia? I thought the end of trade between China with Europe had had more to do with the Ming dynasty closing in on itself (after the and of the Yuan dynasty). Go figure.